Seven medical groups have appealed a decision that let the Trump administration offer less costly and less robust medical coverage as an alternative to Obamacare.
A federal judge allowed the plans to be sold in a decision issued July 19, and the case was appealed Monday to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Plaintiffs hope the offerings will be struck down ahead of November, when Obamacare customers will begin to sign up for coverage.
The plans in question, known as “short-term health insurance,” were expanded by the Trump administration so that people could stay enrolled in them for as long as three years. Short-term plans do not have to cover pre-existing conditions, such as treatments for cancer or diabetes, and omit the broader range of coverage that Obamacare provides, such as maternity care and mental health. Such omissions help make coverage less expensive, but opponents have derided them as “junk insurance.”
“Junk insurance, no matter what it’s called, is an inferior and hazardous substitute for comprehensive coverage,” said Margaret Murray, CEO of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, which is one of the medical groups appealing the case.
The health groups had sued to block the plans, which are already available, but Federal Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, allowed them to stay available. He noted the Obama administration had allowed people to be enrolled in the plans for longer periods until 2016, when it capped short-term plans to three months, and that their offerings had little impact on the Obamacare marketplaces.
Other groups appealing the decision were National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health America, American Psychiatric Association, AIDS United, National Partnership for Women & Families, and Little Lobbyists.
